this pineapple ice sculpture design can be a little challenging if you take it all the way.
coming up with a pineapple ice sculpture design
As part of my quest for 200+ designs on the site, I started casting about for a few designs that’d I’d started on or considered, but never got around to finishing. I was looking for a few easy wins to put me over the top. (I’m supposed to be working on the galleries, but I need a break from that for just a bit.)
I hadn’t really made much progress on it so far, but a basic pineapple ice sculpture design was one on my list. And I thought, well that would be an easy one to add.
However, then I remembered what happened the last time I tried to make a pineapple ice sculpture.
It’s been a while, but the pineapple is a contrast of two parts: one easy and forgiving and one devilishly difficult. You should be able to tell what I mean just by looking at a real pineapple. The main fruit section is pretty easy to sculpt, while the top part, often called the crown, is pretty tough.
But first, I digress.
this pineapple isn’t from Hawaii or south of the border. It’s from Whole Foods
pineapples are from Hawaii, right?
When I put these designs together, I often try to do a little background research on the design subject so that I can at least pretend to know what I’m talking about. If you’ve wandered around the site at all, you’ll know that sometimes I take it farther than I should π
I didn’t think I’d need to do much research on pineapples. I was pretty sure that I knew what was up with them. They’re from Hawaii and a major Hawaiian symbol, blah, blah, blah. I mean, I lived in Hawaii for a bit when I was a kid, so I should at least know a little about this, right?
Nope.
While pineapples are a major symbol of Hawaii, they’ve only been a big deal there since the late 19th century when large plantations were first established. Pineapples originate from South America, where they’ve been a crop for thousands of years. In Central America, the Mayas and Aztecs knew the pineapple long before Hawaiians.
Columbus was evidently one of the first Europeans to come across the pineapple. The fruit became a symbol of wealth in Europe, since it’s difficult and expensive to grow in temperate climates.
Curiously, a major player in the history of ice sculpting also shows up in the history of the pineapple. Evil Empress Anna Ivanovna, famed for overseeing construction of the first ice palace back in 1739, featured pineapples at her Moscow palace (a non-ice one) in 1730. No word on whether the ice palace had pineapple ice sculptures though.
However, starting in the early 20th century, pineapples started to take off in Hawaii. Dole (previously the Dole Food Company), which is now a multi-billion dollar company, can trace its origins to Hawaii and pineapples. Unfortunately, this happened not too long after a Dole family member helped overthrow the indigenous kingdom of Hawaii :/
ok, back to the ice sculpting stuff
You don’t HAVE to sculpt all the detail. And sometimes designs/templates have too much detail that can distract you from executing the essentials of the sculpture. I’ve included a couple of alternate template versions that could make sculpting a little easier.
the template for the pineapple ice sculpture is pretty straightforward. No assembly required. I’ve also included a couple of template versions below with less detail.
the details on the pineapple could be a lot of you try to make them all. Usually it’s better to go for something less than realistic.
this version of the template has less detail on the fruit portion of the pineapple). This detailing is a bit like a Winker vase.
I took details off the crown here. And while pineapples have literally nothing to do with pine trees, the fruit section does kind of look like a pinecone π€·ββοΈ
CNCs and pineapple ice sculptures
Usually, I get to this section and write something like: this design would work great on a CNC! I’m not so sure with pineapple ice sculptures though.
Most CNC machines used for ice are really good at cutting out most sculpture outlines. But they’re not so great at cutting outlines that feature really tight incuts, like those in between the leaves of the pineapple’s crown. That’s because sculpture outlines are usually cut with larger diameter bits, like the 1/2″ end mill. Meanwhile, the incuts in the crown are quite a bit tighter than a 1/2″ bit could manage. However, the CNC could get you most of the way there and then you could finish the incuts by hand.
But it gets worse. Sure, the CNC could help with the silhouette of the pineapple’s crown. Unless you have a very expensive CNC with additional cutting axes though (plus lots of time to program), you’re not going to be able to do much about the rest of the crown. The crown is very much a 3D shape and the leaves stick out in all directions. That means that the CNC’s bit would have to cut in at angles to work on the front and back of the crown. And the crown of a real pineapple can have as many as 40 leaves π± This is a job for hand sculpting, definitely.
You could handle the main fruity section of the pineapple with a CNC though, right? Yeah, I guess. But would you want to? Overall, it’s a nice rounded shape, but it’s not perfectly symmetrical. Also, the surface detailing, while it kind of resembles crosscuts in a crystal vase, doesn’t need to be perfect either. In fact, perfect cuts would make it look less realistic.
Maybe just cut out the basic pineapple outline with a CNC. Maybe add some depth cuts. Then get to work by hand.
I put this video here because it has a Polynesian theme, not because there are any pineapple ice sculptures.
links and stuff
Ok, I don’t have a whole lot of other fruit designs on the site to go with my pineapple ice sculpture. (I guess I could come up with a banana.) I do have a Tiki head though, so check that if you’re looking for something for a Hawaiian-themed event.
Check out the design page for many more ice sculpture designs. Also, check out the design usage guidelines to see what uses are permitted.
You could also find photos and info from this entry on the ice sculpting secrets Instagram account or the facebook page. ice sculpting secrets is also on TikTok (sort of, so far, lol), although videos there aren’t really tied to posts as much. You can comment on IG and fb as well as below. And if it won’t LET you comment below, then definitely comment on fb and/or IG. Thanks!
